O-Gauge-Phil

HAPPY NEW YEAR New year, new projects, new kits, more kits! Hi Chris Yes totally agree with you. I do wish I had removed the three sleepers and box that encloses the micro switch on the point before I stuck it down and ballasted the track, but I didn’t. Because of my medical condition I had to build something not too involved. I would have preferred hand built track etc etc, it’s really really hard not to get distracted and keep to the goal but I couldn’t live with those micro-switch boxes anymore. I knew the FPL was wrong when I did it but hope that you agree it’s better than that switch box and hides the gubbins underneath. Trying to maintain a balance between a pipe dream and a finished layout Is not easy. Hence desirable / achievable. I know it looks weird to you but at a quick glance it looks in keeping with something you could see. Really just in the spirit of a GWR branch line, not really a model of Abbotsbury, more in the style of. The point rodding follows a route a signal engineer would be shot for. A straight run down on the other side of the track would be obvious. In fact there is no rodding at all as far as I can see down to the loco release. I don’t like platforms with joins and it runs over three boards (5’ 6”) so I made it in one. As a novice I didn’t know what the gap would look like between the platform and ballast, so to disguise the gap I used the rodding. One rod looked a bit too thin to desguise anything but two rods looked about right. I used oiled kitchen foil to prevent it all sticking together, platform / ballast. After repairing a few cave-ins it came out looking ok so I didn’t need the rodding after all. Needed something to run the rodding to, so FPL. Sorry to be so long winded. I am really grateful to you, Joseph and The Stationmaster. When I’m unsure what I am doing I tend to dawdle and it takes ten times longer. Now I know I can press on with the uncoupling magnets. I want to try and get this layout as finished as I can so the mistakes are on this one and not the next. Thanks Ade. Nice to get a second opinion, I thought the lettering was a bit wonky, I should have soldered some guides on before applying the lettering. Modelling is a lonely hobby, so it’s great to hear from like-minded souls. Seeing how others tackle a problem. Nothing wrong either from good constructive criticism. Don, thanks for the feedback. Coaches in all their magnificance do look good but require someone with a lot more skill than I have and a lot of time. Many many many years ago I realised I had too many locos and nothing to pull behind them. So now I model trains, I find a picture and try to find some resemblance to the real thing, locos coaches, loco wagons. Sometimes starting with a picture, sometimes from a set of coaches bought from EBay. Anyway back to painting this crane and what account I mistakenly paid my water bill to. Crane first I think. Happy new year and thanks for everybody’s comments. Cheers Phil

The Down Home and the Up Starter were there for signalling to the fiddle yard operator. I intended to have a servo and arm on the back of the back-scene. but I can always shout or put a button on the panel. Only got the fourteen arms. As to the starter I’ve already asked the Station Master ( but I may not have asked the right question! ) The signal on 10, I have made provisions for:- The long sleeper was going to hold it (bet it’s in the wrong place). Got a point lever for the catch? The layout track is based on Alcaster but it’s a Midland Station. Abbotsbury has a nice Station but boring track, so Alcaster track, Abbotsbury scenery. There’s a link below, have a quick shifty. Dinner on table now, better go before I upset the boss. Thanks. Phillip

Sorry I think the web is overloaded, it just go crazy.

Cheers, absolutely brilliant, I really can't thank you enough. I can press on now without worrying if I'm going to have to rip it all up. I'm afraid to say I am a complete novice when it comes to operation etc, as you can see. Every thing I do I learn from. If I started again... learning by doing. The scenery is based on Abbotsbury and If there were funds would have been a through station. My thinking was If I based it on something real it's got to be better than something I dreamt up. Thanks for that about the positioning of the ground signals, I am hoping to make them operate. Sorry - what does FPL stand for? I'm using two MSE seven way lever frames, with a dummy lever in the middle. I have placed the hand operated points at one end - 14, 15, 16. Had originally used two levers for 2 and 4 because they were on different boards but now know how to do this with a DCC encoder. The yellow dots are permanent magnets. I'm using Dingham couplings, they tend to stay coupled when being pulled but when pushed trucks stay uncoupled until you stop. I'm planning to use three electro-magnets - Blue, Green and Red , related to the pushbuttons. I do have another if required - I wonder if I should have one below the '9'? Would welcome any advice. I know, I know - the 'deliberate mistake' - goodness knows how this happened, I must have been concentrating so much on the handwriting that number ten is missing! Another job to do. Thanks once again, great team work you three. Phil.

Hi Very nice to see you take the plunge, however the connoisseur brake van has a lot of rivets to press out. O gauge is magnificent, to me anyway. Just pick it up, the weight, the detail and the way it rolls, marvellous. Anyway remember the slogan " let's get the O gauge layout done " could have been a Brexit free zone. Enjoy your modelling. Phil

Hi I am modelling a layout based on Alcaster but just the GWR bits. I’m now fitting the uncoupler magnets and would very much like to know how the prototype would be operated. Would a goods train pull into the platform then run round just like a passenger train or would it pull into the engine release loop and the engine run round on the platform road. Any other help and advice would be gratefully received particularly regarding shunting moves a driver would or couldn’t make Does anyone know if a signalling diagram is available. I have already fitted pertinent magnets to the goods shed , cattle dock end of platform etc. Many thanks Phil

Looks like it won’t be long before it’s time to put the whole thing on some skates and head off down the M1, I’ll pm you my post code and don’t worry there will be another cuppa waiting for you. Is the cabin heated now and can you nip in for a warm up? Nearly there now, I would have thought it’s now okay to leave the rest until spring but I bet you were out there today. Phil

Hi First thing, back to the luggage van. This was an EBay item again, etches only, thought it would be a fairly quick build, no compartments hence less door knobs etc. I have a Mallard D15 so I thought I could rob the bogies from that, as I’ve already got some Slaters bogies. Bought some gas cylinders etc from EBay but then, I thought fancy pepper pots and lined livery. So a tad out of period but it’s not a museum piece. It took ages to line! Can’t see me doing another for a while particularly as I have two new layouts in my head when time and space permitting. When doing the roof I didn’t know what size to make the rain strips and I could not find a reference to it on these pages. So I went to Didcot and measured one. They are roughly 30 x 30 mm tapering to 25 on the top. This brings me to a tip. In 7 mm scale if you measure the real item in mm, 1 mm is approximately 1 thou. Hence 30 thou square for the rain strips . Now 30 thou is about the same size as square point rodding, Job sorted. A few more pics. from around the station area. The parcel office garden is made from one of my favourite materials, foam board. You can’t see it but the loo is all there. And yes I do know,it is quite big. I’m waiting for some platform lights, they should be available in the spring but we will see, always lots to do so no rush, manana. Now this has been bugging me for some time. Flowers. Now I like this:- and I like this:- but I cannot decide on these:- The one above was so bright I gave it a dusting with grey paint. Is the lettering ok before I plant the sign or should I do it again? Now a bit better with some foliage? If there is any of the pictures you would like to see in higher res. please just let me know. cheers Phil

Thanks Ian, yes totally agree. I wish though that I had gone for auto couplings from day one. Then I could of added an extra foot on the width because the distance between track and backscene is very close. Have had to use colour to add some perspective. But hopefully we learn from our mistakes, I have in this case. I hope the ratio between track and scenery is about right or operation could be a bit boring. Time will tell. Anyway as someone on the magic roundabout once said " time fo bed" . Hopefully you'll enjoy progress so far and help me with a question or two coming up. Thanks for comments Phil

Hi Ade No, I am afraid it’s an EBay. I wanted to get things going quickly and my wife said that you can always sell them again and all you have lost is the commission plus a bit. Unfortunately prices are dropping all the time. I think I have bought 5 locos now, and lots of coaches as they take an age to build and one isn’t much use on its own. I’m 65 now and with my medical issues time is a major factor. The City is one of the ones I am not going to sell on. It just puts a smile on my face. It was nicely built and painted but has never run. I had a number of problems, the outside crank axles were jammed into the body and would not turn, the gear ratio was so high the motor would only turn the wheels if it was held above the track. Top of my list at Reading was a 40:1 MSC helical gearbox and also with a short or two it’s been a while getting it going. It seems to be okay now on my bit of track, so looking forward to giving it a run on the club test track. I could do with doing a bit more on it but you have to take a view or you end up having a nice loco and nothing to run it on. As time goes by I’ll get round to all those little jobs. I did however build the coach. Anyway that’s all for now, hopefully more tomorrow. Merry Christmas Phil

The platform is removable and runs over three boards. The buffer is Peco with the back cut off, in reality the back part would be bricked in. The two layers of cork can be seen under the tracks, I think this helped with the ballast elevation. The two layers are glued with contact adhesive, I don’t know if this reduces noise but it doesn’t do any harm and it must be better than pins. I don’t have any problem with noticeable noise so maybe it does work. Need to paint the wood and add the plates for the end unloading. Wood now painted, these pictures keep showing jobs on the to do list. The bus also wants weathering, it’s mainly there to add interest when looking through the booking office. Boards without platform. The speakers play sounds of seagulls and breaking waves, until I got used to it it kept me running to the loo. The point rodding was supposed to help hide the gaps but the cork is so snug it’s not really required. Now the platform. The join between boards 1 and 2 is partially disguised with the garden in front of the parcels office. Must take some higher resolution pics. The parcel office then sits on the top. Sorry out of meg bits.

Thanks for looking .

Merry Christmas. Hope it was a good one. Nothing done on the old train set, so with no more adieu some pictures I took this morning. Boards 1 & 2 The London- Exeter then all stations Dillmouth express arrives. “

Hi It may not be much cheaper to scratchbuild but you can have a loco not otherwise available. If cost is a consideration have a look on EBay, if you're not too fussy about type of loco you can find a part built complete with wheels and motor for a bargain. Look up N15 on here, he is amazing, turns scrap into gold. If it all goes pear shaped , you've not lost too much. Happy Christmas Phil

Thanks, It’s Timber Tracks , I think they build into quite a nice model, in fact all the buildings are T.T. They save a lot of time and of course hours of research. I have seen them on EBay for a fraction of the list price. You do have to be a bit careful, though, as they can come out very big in 7mm. They do laser cut roof tiles, or did - he is supposed to be retired but keeps popping up, he was at Reading. Might be okay for your roof, you’ll be suprised at how big a roof is. No connection, just a satisfied customer. I suspect many of us are looking forward to the developments at Malmesbury, no pressure then. As I’m posting, it just occurred to me to add a picture of today’s progress. Water tank for the porters’ room/ toilets, cows and sack barrow. Also transport boxes for the station, a good day all in all. Hope that makes sense, fits in a Really Useful box. Same footprint as my stock boxes. As it was out, couldn’t resist trying the water tank on the station building. Food shopping tomorrow, then get some paint on the tank, cows etc. Goodnight Phil

Hi, Thanks Nile, I thought that It was, that’s why I split it into two posts, but then it maxed me out on the second lot of pictures. Perhaps I was a little too quick between them, count to ten next time. I have found the instructions and FAQs. Bit of a hard reading. I think I’Il only do it if I have to. Anyway some more pictures. I wanted the lighting in the goods shed to be very subdued and to form little puddles of light As I remember it, even a 100 watt bulb wasn’t that bright and a gas light must have been worse. Bought a crane at Reading, so that’s another job. I think today is the shortest day, so roll on spring and of course Christmas. Always have a decoder on my Christmas list. And you know what that means. That means a new loco to build in the spring. Cheers Phil

Board Three Goods Shed Board three contains the one and only post signal. It is removable using MERG 3D printed mechanism but I will come back to this when I have a little more time. Again trying to keep to low quality pics. Think I should have straightened up the tree and signal and I don’t know why some come out large and others small. Actually I could do with some instructions but I can't see any. I will try and upload some more pictures when it lets me. Is the limit per hour or day? Anyway lt looks much better in the pictures than in real life, probably due to the viewing angle. Thanks again for your kind words. Phil

Personally I wouldn’t rush out and buy anything until you have to. Most O gauge stuff is much the same as oo, so just use what you have. I believe that cordless motors like a smooth dc supply and no feedback. Whereas generally standard can motors need a good feedback controller for slow speed running. Motors don’t run at the maximum current for long if at all. I have just been working on my City, 1.2 amp motor,peaks at 0.45 amps average 0.25 amps. One of the main factors is not so much the length of the train, unless you have a round and round or garden layout, it’s the gears. A worm gear is so inefficient everything else pales into insignificance . With dcc you tailor the feedback to that particular engine, much better. .But more importantly you may wish to go dcc before too long. I know I haven’t helped much but same old compromises. Phil P.S. 1) my City has a helical gearbox and 2) overloads should have an inverse time characteristic , meaning it will operate at full load without tripping. A very high current will trip immediately,while a lesser current will take longer to trip. So to answer your question a to larger transformer may not protect your motor but should protect your wiring.

How about curtains and little lights in each window, oh and name on the outside. Think that would look first class. Phil

Wow thank you, much appreciated. Phil

Still got to go over the bottom half in BROWN. . Only joking, looks nice, bright and welcoming. Phil

Hi Richard Thank you, I was most touched by your comment. Will do! Cheers, Phil

Hi Ade Glad you like it. Hoping to move next year, looking for something that has a room or garage suitable for my layout. If not you have opened my eyes to cabins. It doesn’t matter what colour you paint it, it will still be green to me - green with envy. Also the brake van and the Cordon not the easiest brass kits but boy did you nail it. Phil

I Just popped out for a moment, so posted so I wouldn’t lose it all. Anyway funny thing about the trees, when you plant it , it either looks right or it doesn’t . So they have had a little shuffle until they sit right. The tree I was most happy with ended up just behind another, so you can hardly see it. Still, not going to move it as it looks quite at home. The 150 degree curve at the end was to prevent you looking directly down the fiddle yard tunnel. I used that slotted sheet stuff you see all over but I cut a strip glued on smooth side out. When the glue dries it’s very rigid . Phil

The Model Most of the basics are now there. All the big trees are in place, particularly by the backscene and just about everything is taken from old photos of the real thing. If I attempt to make a tree from scratch it looks like a Brillo pad on a stick. Real trees grow in all sorts of ways you could not imagine. I don’t think you can invent nature. All the big trees are fitted into pieces of 20 mm dowel glued to the baseboard above or below, then a hole is drilled and the tree dropped in. The backscene was a bit of a pain. The first one I tried in some super duper material creased every time two pieces touched. That was binned. The other problem I encountered was getting one over 20 feet long with no modern houses in it, in the end it boiled down to just a few to choose from. Anyway some more pics I’ve just taken, lower resolution this time. Think it better to do one board at a time. Board 4 This is the last one before disappearing off to the fiddle yard. Sorry for all the off cut and rodding hanging off. At Reading I bought a new motor/gearbox for my City, so I had to fit it and an encoder. Out today but I’ll tidy those loose ends tomorrow. The hill at the back holds a little secret. yep - head shunt for the fiddle yard, long enough for a tender engine or railcar.